There are 16 of them. They are part of the wave of deportees from Algeria at the end of the first half of 2021. After the harshness of the journey and the challenges of Covid 19, the nightmare of migration has been reduced to despair.
After the perilous crossing of the Algerian-Nigerian border as passengers in an "unofficial" deportation convoy, they managed to observe the quarantine period in the village of Assamaka on Nigerien territory before continuing the journey to the mining town of Arlit in northern Niger in line with the requirements of the International Organisation for Migration (IOM).
Once they arrived in the city of Agadez, misfortune knocked on their door. Three of them were tested positive for Covid 19 and put under medical supervision.
The stories told by a spokesperson and a victim of human rights violations allow us to measure the degree of vulnerability of people moving within a political and geographical space (ECOWAS space) that belongs to them.
If, for reasons that may or may not be well-founded, the Algerian authorities have made these Guineans persona non grata, common sense, cooperation between states and the principles of humanitarian assistance, which some international organisations claim to have, would have prevailed in order to put an end to the moral and psychological burden that weighs on these sub-Saharan migrants.
As a reminder, the months of July and August are winter periods in the Sahel. The rains are often preceded by sandstorms on the edge of the desert.
Faced with such natural challenges, the spirit of support for a voluntary return to the home country would have taken precedence over the authoritarian or even autocratic instinct of certain leaders to alleviate the suffering of these people with little room for manoeuvre. For, at this very moment, the nationals of Guinea Conakry lack alternatives and remain stranded in Agadez in great destitution.
As a result, and in keeping with its principle of helping people in distress, especially those whose right to free movement is being violated, the transnational network Alarme Phone Sahara is calling the public's attention to the risks of all kinds faced by these 16 migrants who have been left to their own devices for more than two weeks in the streets of Agadez.
Alarme Phone Sahara takes this opportunity to urge the Guinean authorities to come to the aid of their nationals, some of whom are already complaining about the deterioration of their physical health, in addition to being psychologically affected by the precarious conditions in which they are languishing after their deportation from Algeria.